Bears Charging Through the Garden

In this short clip, the first thing we see is a woman in her garden brandishing a large stick as if she is about to bat in a baseball game. Suddenly, a dog comes tearing into the garden chased by a…black bear! She tries to get in between the black bear and the dog but gets bowled over and ends up on her back. Meanwhile, the bear turns around and heads back the way that they have come. Job done! The dog, at least, is safe. Black bears like to hang around human settlements because there is a plenty of food! Because black bears need a lot of calories and spend most of their waking hours either looking for food or eating – human trash cans can be very attractive to them! They have also been known to break into cars to steal snacks.

Bears in Human Settlements

Black bears are the most widespread bear species in North America where there are 16 sub-species. They are a medium-sized bear that can be a variety of colors including black (as we see here), dark red, brown or even lighter tan. They have short, thick fur covering their heavily built body and a pointed muzzle and ears. Their eyes are small and they have no shoulder hump – this is seen in brown bears. Black bears have short claws and are very agile so they are skilled at climbing trees and use this to escape attacks. Even though black bears are mainly herbivores, they also eat some meat which can be smaller animals such as insects and rodents. However, when they need to, they will also eat fish (which they catch from rivers) and larger animals such as deer. There are several reports of bears having encounters with dogs and it is not usually a problem. The bear will usually back off or even run away and climb a tree. However, a Mom bear protecting her cubs is likely to be more confrontational and may chase the dog away. Perhaps that is what happened here!

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